Auburn University Recruitment - Fall 2010

[MOMto2]

Congrats to all the new members! I hope you will all be truly happy with your new homes at Auburn.

On a side note, I hear several girls showed up at their new houses crying because they did not receive the bid they desired, ie...their first or second choice. Is this not rude to the sorority that extended the bid? Furthermore, if they choose to drop out and decline the bid, is it not a spot which could have been offered to someone who truly desired it?

I know that the Auburn Pi Chis do a wonderful job of guiding these girls through the confusing process of recruitment. I just have to wonder if these girls truly understand the implications of signing a bid card. Why put sorority on the bid card if you are not willing to accept a bid from them? Would these girls not be better off indicating up front they do not want to be a member of XYZ thus allowing this spot to passed along to another?

Some girls, like some mentioned during this recruitment thread, know when a place is not right for them and they drop or do not maximize their options. Maybe this is a better option than walking in to 200-250 new sisters welcoming you and you indicate by incessant crying "I really don"t want to be here."

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by MOMto2

Congrats to all the new members! I hope you will all be truly happy with your new homes at Auburn.

On a side note, I hear several girls showed up at their new houses crying because they did not receive the bid they desired, ie...their first or second choice. Is this not rude to the sorority that extended the bid? Furthermore, if they choose to drop out and decline the bid, is it not a spot which could have been offered to someone who truly desired it?

I know that the Auburn Pi Chis do a wonderful job of guiding these girls through the confusing process of recruitment. I just have to wonder if these girls truly understand the implications of signing a bid card. Why put sorority on the bid card if you are not willing to accept a bid from them? Would these girls not be better off indicating up front they do not want to be a member of XYZ thus allowing this spot to passed along to another?

Some girls, like some mentioned during this recruitment thread, know when a place is not right for them and they drop or do not maximize their options. Maybe this is a better option than walking in to 200-250 new sisters welcoming you and you indicate by incessant crying "I really don"t want to be here."

Yes, it is a tad rude/awkward. But often, freshmen who might be dealing with their first taste of rejection do not see things from the sorority members' point of view.

And really, many times PNMs don't understand the implications of putting a chapter on their final rankings. Also, Rho Chis are trained to encourage PNMs to maximize their options, which means putting down EVERY chapter you preffed.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by MOMto2

Congrats to all the new members! I hope you will all be truly happy with your new homes at Auburn.

On a side note, I hear several girls showed up at their new houses crying because they did not receive the bid they desired, ie...their first or second choice. Is this not rude to the sorority that extended the bid? Furthermore, if they choose to drop out and decline the bid, is it not a spot which could have been offered to someone who truly desired it?

I know that the Auburn Pi Chis do a wonderful job of guiding these girls through the confusing process of recruitment. I just have to wonder if these girls truly understand the implications of signing a bid card. Why put sorority on the bid card if you are not willing to accept a bid from them? Would these girls not be better off indicating up front they do not want to be a member of XYZ thus allowing this spot to passed along to another?

Some girls, like some mentioned during this recruitment thread, know when a place is not right for them and they drop or do not maximize their options. Maybe this is a better option than walking in to 200-250 new sisters welcoming you and you indicate by incessant crying "I really don"t want to be here."

For some of these girls, they aren't as much disgusted with the thought of joining the chapter they got as much as shocked that they didn't get the chapter they thought they would. I know from experience with a girl in my chapter who expected to receive a bid from her legacy chapter and didn't that sometimes you just can't help crying. She thought she'd let her sisters down. Her family had redecorated her room at home already in anticipation! All she really needed is for someone to take her aside, shake her up a little, tell her to dry her tears because later she'd regret embarassing herself. She washed her face and made the best of the day. She called her family, broke the news. They ran around tearing down all the other sorority things and ran out to make an AOII basket of goodies before she made it home. She made a great AOII. You can't always hold it against them for getting a little emotional over the shock of the day. Not everyone gets what they are expecting.

[33girl]

Originally Posted by AOII Angel

For some of these girls, they aren't as much disgusted with the thought of joining the chapter they got as much as shocked that they didn't get the chapter they thought they would. I know from experience with a girl in my chapter who expected to receive a bid from her legacy chapter and didn't that sometimes you just can't help crying. She thought she'd let her sisters down. Her family had redecorated her room at home already in anticipation! All she really needed is for someone to take her aside, shake her up a little, tell her to dry her tears because later she'd regret embarassing herself. She washed her face and made the best of the day. She called her family, broke the news. They ran around tearing down all the other sorority things and ran out to make an AOII basket of goodies before she made it home. She made a great AOII. You can't always hold it against them for getting a little emotional over the shock of the day. Not everyone gets what they are expecting.

Yeah, I honestly think it isn't "OMG I wish I was dead/I hate this effing sorority" rather it's "OMG I let people down/am going to look like an idiot for all the times I said I was going to be an XYZ." The latter being why it's best to play your cards close to your vest regarding your preferred chapters.

This is the reason why, tradition though it may be, I'm really not a fan of these large public bid-acceptance fests. At least when it's just 3 or 4 ABC sisters coming to your own private room, you can have a moment or two (or ten) to close the door, wipe the shock off your face, and cry if you need to - the sisters will understand.

[dgdramadawg]

Originally Posted by MOMto2

I know that the Auburn Pi Chis do a wonderful job of guiding these girls through the confusing process of recruitment. I just have to wonder if these girls truly understand the implications of signing a bid card. Why put sorority on the bid card if you are not willing to accept a bid from them? Would these girls not be better off indicating up front they do not want to be a member of XYZ thus allowing this spot to passed along to another?

A lot of the time, these girls just don't really think the reality of getting their third choices will ever come to pass. They understand what it means to write down the chapter names for all 3, but they can't imagine they won't get their #1 or #2 houses.

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by 33girl

Yeah, I honestly think it isn't "OMG I wish I was dead/I hate this effing sorority" rather it's "OMG I let people down/am going to look like an idiot for all the times I said I was going to be an XYZ." The latter being why it's best to play your cards close to your vest regarding your preferred chapters.

This is the reason why, tradition though it may be, I'm really not a fan of these large public bid-acceptance fests. At least when it's just 3 or 4 ABC sisters coming to your own private room, you can have a moment or two (or ten) to close the door, wipe the shock off your face, and cry if you need to - the sisters will understand.

I completely agree. We had a more private bid acceptance process. It wasn't enough for some girls at times, but even then, each sorority had their own private area to accept their new members that no one was privy to. When the NM I was discussing came down the hall, I just put my arm through hers and led her to my dorm room and had a quick chat with her, gave her a hug and took her to the bathroom to freshen up. We were able to get back to the event in under 10 minutes. She kept it together for the rest of the day. Trust me...everyone knew what the deal was.

[littleowl33]

We've certainly had girls come to our preference round and/or bid day crying or visibly upset because they were dropped or didn't get a bid to their top choice. As a sister it is hard to not take it personally sometimes, but it's completely understandable. Sometimes those girls continue to mope and either drop out or fade into the background for their sorority experience, but the majority of them go on and become enthusiastic, involved members. It's just a decision between spending all your time thinking about what could have been or making the most of your time in your new chapter - or even working extra hard to improve your chapter if it's struggling.

Originally Posted by 33girl

This is the reason why, tradition though it may be, I'm really not a fan of these large public bid-acceptance fests. At least when it's just 3 or 4 ABC sisters coming to your own private room, you can have a moment or two (or ten) to close the door, wipe the shock off your face, and cry if you need to - the sisters will understand.

JHU is toying with the idea of moving from a private bid acceptance to a public one and it scares me, frankly. Panhellenic feels that getting your bid midday in a private room, then waiting until the evening to celebrate with your new sisters (which is the way it's done now) is anti-climactic and too prone to violations, like sisters pressuring PNMs throughout the day. They believe doing a big public acceptance will get girls more amped up and more likely to accept their bids. Buuut I can also picture a lot of crying girls going nowhere. At least with the current system they can take a few hours to think about it and then give it a try. Although, this has also back-fired and made girls psych themselves out (or get bad advice from friends) and change their mind or not show up to bid night. I guess we'll see.

[KSUViolet06]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

JHU is toying with the idea of moving from a private bid acceptance to a public one and it scares me, frankly. Panhellenic feels that getting your bid midday in a private room, then waiting until the evening to celebrate with your new sisters (which is the way it's done now) is anti-climactic and too prone to violations, like sisters pressuring PNMs throughout the day. They believe doing a big public acceptance will get girls more amped up and more likely to accept their bids. Buuut I can also picture a lot of crying girls going nowhere. At least with the current system they can take a few hours to think about it and then give it a try. Although, this has also back-fired and made girls psych themselves out (or get bad advice from friends) and decide not to accept. I guess we'll see.

My school has done things in a way that I think is good.

The girls line up and go into an office with the Rho Chi to actually GET their bids. That way, if a PNM is skeptical or upset, there are Rho Chis around to talk.

Then there is Bid Day afterward where you are announced and run to your chapter.

I think it's good in that you do not get your bid MOMENTS before you step in front of a screaming crowd and you have a chance to get yourself together/talk to someone/etc. If you cried, you got it all out before it was showtime. So crying at the houses later on is minimal.

[mittens]

Originally Posted by hotpink&pearls

Excited to share that after quite the week of rush, I am a new Alpha Omicron Pi!

(It's just really now starting to sink in - weird!)

Another AOII!!! Welcome to the sisterhood!!!

[mittens]

Originally Posted by OleMissGlitter

Found out yesterday morning my rec girl is a very happy new member of.....


DELTA GAMMA at AUBURN!

She is beyond excited! As a sophomore (first time going through) she wasn't sure how it was going to end. She is a legacy to a couple of houses but she stayed with the process. She couldn't be more happy and more excited! I already went shopping on the Oxford Square yesterday and bought her some DG happies to mail to her tomorrow!

Was she also a legacy to Delta Gamma??

[sallison1365]

Hello, can anyone explain the COB process? from the post I have read it looks like all the sororities have reached their quota's. Any information would be helpful! Thank you!!

[AZ-AlphaXi]

a chapter may COB if they 1) don't make quota as set during formal recruitment or 2) are still below chapter total even if they did make quota. In this case, they may continue to offer bids up to chapter total.

Check with your greek life office to see which chapters, if any, are participating in COB.

[sallison1365]

Originally Posted by AZ-AlphaXi

a chapter may COB if they 1) don't make quota as set during formal recruitment or 2) are still below chapter total even if they did make quota. In this case, they may continue to offer bids up to chapter total.

Check with your greek life office to see which chapters, if any, are participating in COB.

Thank you!! my daughter went thru fall recruitment but was released on bid day. She was very upset at first and was under the assuption that her chance had passed. When she heard about COB she wanted to give it another go. Rush was far more stressful than she anticipated but she really enjoyed meeting all the girls and her PiChi was wonderful and always supportive. I don't want her to get her hopes up too much, if anyone knows anyone who accepted a bid thru COB I would love to hear about their experience. Thanks!!

[FSUZeta]

she should check out the auburn panhellenic website. they are always really good about posting information about cob opportunities.

[OleMissGlitter]

Originally Posted by mittens

Was she also a legacy to Delta Gamma??

No she wasn't a legacy to DG! She is loving DG at AU!